


It ain't easy being Green

by AllKindsOfEverything



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Green Diamond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 08:52:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17443754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllKindsOfEverything/pseuds/AllKindsOfEverything
Summary: The trap has sprung, Steven, the Crystal Gems, Blue and Yellow have been caught.Green Diamond is more than the sum of her parts, but she has a long way to go to come to terms with her existence.Luckily for her, Steven is there to help the giant woman he never thought he'd see.





	It ain't easy being Green

Green. Everywhere.  
She blinked in confusion, looking down to see that she was far taller than what she had expected. Bringing her hands forward, she stared in disbelief when two sets, in a perfect shade of green, appeared in her view. Furrowing her brow, she glanced at the starry eyed boy who stood close to her massive feet, her mouth opening and closing without a sound.  
She felt... she felt... what did she feel?   
So much. Too much.   
Taking a shuddering breath, she dropped to her knees, the world around her shaking at the impact. Guilt. Fear. Self-loathing. Anger. Love? No, that couldn't be. There couldn't be anything _positive_ about this. About her. She was so confused. Who was she? _What_ was she?  
Suddenly she remembered existing before this, on an open field, on a foreign planet, smiling, laughing. No.   
Why was that memory there? It wasn't right.   
War. Yes. War. Fighting. Saving. Saving who? Blue. Yellow. The two names spun around each other, melting into her. Who had saved whom? And why?   
There was no reason for her existence now. There was no fight to be won; only this room, with its high ceiling and smooth, glistening walls. And the boy. Pink. No. Steven. Her Steven. _Their_ Steven.   
Love.

They had been taken by surprise.  
Like the master illusionist she was, White had tricked them in a way only she could have contrived. Catching every gem she had deemed a rebel or a traitor, she had locked them away in a windowless maze of white marble.  
Not only had the enormous doors of their dungeon closed, no, they had merged with the icy walls surrounding them without leaving a trace.  
They were trapped.  
That's how she came to be, under the astonished looks of the newly formed Crystal Gems and the little boy with stars in his eyes.

A tiny, warm hand against her knee, a small voice asking, "Are you okay?"

She met his worried gaze and smiled through tears she hadn't noticed forming. "No."  
Even her whisper sounded like a shout.

"That's okay, you'll be fine. Y-you're not alone."

Was that supposed to be comforting? It was aggravating. She glanced around and saw the stunned expressions of the Crystal Gems, their disbelief.  
She wanted to shatter them for seeing her, for looking at her the way they were.   
What was that look? Pity? It wouldn't do.  
Her lips curled into a snarl and she lunged forward, trapping the perma-fusion between two massive hands as the others scattered away from her grasp like rats. She heard their small voices cry out in surprise, their friend's puny little fists, hitting everywhere they could reach, to no avail. Smiling wickedly, she slowly started to squeeze, revelling in the fear on her victim's face.  
Below her, the gems had drawn their weapons, but she knew she was far too large for them to do her much harm.

"Green, no!" Steven's voice cut through the battle cries and the Diamond fusion froze.

"Green?" She whispered with uncertainty, losing her grip on Garnet, who quickly freed herself and dropped to the floor. Green Diamond turned her face to the boy, wondering, "Is... is that my name?"

Steven stood rooted to the spot and watched her crawl towards him hesitantly, her curious eyes never leaving his.

When she reached out, the Crystal Gems flew into their battle stance, but Steven walked past them. Gingerly stepping towards the Diamond, who had dropped her hand in front of him with its palm facing upwards, he tilted his head, studying her intently.

Green stayed perfectly still, her aura spreading from the gems in the centre of her chest, gently inviting the boy in. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to trust her. There was an unexplained warmth washing over her when Steven made up his mind and crawled onto her waiting hand. She couldn't stop the gentle smile that took over her features. 

As slowly as possible, she brought her hand up closer to her face, cupping the underside with another to steady it on its journey. 

Not quite sure how to act, Steven sat down on the soft palm, glad that it didn't move faster.  
He stayed quiet, letting the giant woman come to terms with the situation first. When she kept smiling warmly, he grinned back. "Hello."

Green cocked her head to one side and sat back on her heels.  
"I know you." She watched his grin widen even further and giggled at the sight. Her smile dropped and she bit her lip. Why had she just giggled? She shouldn't giggle. This was serious. She needed answers. _'Concentrate!'_ "Sorry."

"Don't be," Steven replied warmly, "You must be really confused."

"I am." She wasn't quite sure why she admitted it so openly when there was still a handful of rebels growling at her from less than six feet away. Thinking on it for a second, she decided she could just shatter them if they annoyed her too much. For now, the most important thing was the boy on her palm. She looked at him again. "You called me Green."

"Yeah," he felt himself blush and scratched the back of his head. "It just sounded right."

Chewing on her lower lip, she regarded him with a worried look. "I'm not supposed to exist."

"W-what do you mean?" Steven furrowed his brow, genuinely surprised by the statement.

Looking away, Green Diamond tried to make sense of the emotions inside her head.   
"I'm... not sure." She sighed, feeling tears burn behind her eyes. 

Seeing the distress she felt, Steven carefully crawled closer to her face.  
"Hey." Unable to reach anywhere else, he began to stroke the palm he was seated on reassuringly, waiting for her to look at him again. "It's okay." 

"Is it?" Her voice was trembling slightly. How she hated feeling so weak.  
Deep inside Green, something stirred as Blue Diamond's power flared up; the sadness she had so often projected onto others curling in on itself, being pierced by Yellow's anger and determination. Unbeknownst to her, it slowly oozed out of her gems, filling up the room.

"Yeah." He wasn't sure what the green tint in his vision was, but somewhere in the back of his mind there was a feeling that didn't seem to belong to himself.

"What if you're wrong?" Green bowed her head, burying her face in her second set of hands, and let the fear she felt wash across the room. "What if they find out?"

Beneath her, the Crystal Gems shrank together, standing back to back, their weapons raised against an unseen enemy.   
The emotion ebbed away as quickly as it had appeared, leaving them flabbergasted at their own reaction. Pearl gazed up in worry at the boy still sitting on Green Diamond's hand, releasing a breath she hadn't been aware of holding when he looked at her from over his shoulder and smiled. 

"Is that what makes you feel so scared?" Steven asked gently.

"I'm not...." She trailed off before straightening her back, raising her chin defiantly. "I'm not  _ scared _ ."

"Good." Steven tried to navigate through the clashing emotions the Diamond fusion seemed to experience without agitating her. This was the sum of Yellow and Blue. He knew them, he knew how to handle them; Green, on the other hand, was new territory. "Because we'll need your help."

" _ My _ help?" Green was stunned. Raising one perfectly arched eyebrow, she looked at him in suspicion. "Why?"

"Because you're huge!" Steven exclaimed. "And you're strong! Stronger than all of us put together." He hoped Garnet would forgive him for his words. He'd have to hug her later. "You might not remember, but Yellow and Blue tried to help us escape but then White-"

"White!" The fusion shrieked, all colour draining from her face when she remembered how she had become entrapped in this room through Yellow's eyes. "She'll be so mad."  
Walking into the trap especially designed for her, for them. Steven calling for help. Blue, stumbling into darkness. She had to save her, save him, save _them_. Blue watching Yellow turn around to see the door shutting, shouting in anger, hitting the surface so hard she had been afraid she'd break her hands.  
Love. Fear.  
So close together. Fear not for oneself but for another. The overwhelming urge to protect, no matter the cost.   
Her fingertips found the gems on her chest and traced over the edge where they met, one warm, one cool. But what was she? Neither? Both? It was still confusing. Frustrating. She wasn't meant to be. Was she?   
Looking at the little boy still sitting patiently on her palm, she argued with herself what to do.  
The conclusion was easy, because it was decided by both sides of herself simultaneously and in absolute agreement.   
Protect Steven.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm eternally grateful for @t_hanson's patience & betaing skills ♥


End file.
